Certain books have been cornerstones for my family as my kids have gone through various phases. New baby? My oldest daughter loved Julius, Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes. First day of school jitters? My daughter read the Berenstain Bears over and over. Dealing with feeling excluded by friends at school or fighting with siblings? We've recently been reading The Quarreling Book, by Charlotte Zolotow and Why Are You So Mean to Me?, a Sesame Street Book.

In my house, I've been especially interested in watching how each of my kids responds to books that have been beloved or ignored by their siblings. I recently compiled this list of my three favorite books to give as gifts but in truth, it was agonizing to get down to just three. So I figured I'd use this space to throw out some of our other all time favorites: